And we thought Newton and Ohio State’s “un”fabulous five stories sullied the 2010 college football season? This report makes Jim Tressel look like the Mr. Rodgers of college football and the neighborhood ain’t pretty.

The claims of former Miami booster Nevin Shapiro detail egregious NCAA rule-breaking on the parts of players, coaches and even equipment managers at the University of Miami from 2002-2010. There are many brittle branches to this root of corruption (and I encourage you to read the entire story to get the complete picture), but one of the most disturbing allegations surrounds the use of bounties.

Shapiro, who is serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for securities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and money laundering, says he paid players for the “hit of the game” or “big plays.” He put bounties on specific players, including former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow and a three-year standing bounty on Seminoles quarterback Chris Rix from 2002-2004, offering $5,000 to any player who knocked him out of a game, according to Yahoo! Sports.

Shapiro’s claim was confirmed by two former Miami football players.

“We pounded the (expletive) out of that kid,” Shapiro said of Rix. “Watch the tape of those games. You’ll see so many big hits on him. Guys were all going after that $5,000 in cash. [Jon] Vilma tried to kill him – just crushed him – a couple of times trying to get that $5,000. And he almost got it, too.”

It’s not uncommon for the athletes themselves to target opponents in a game, that’s a part of the game plan. But it makes me sick to my stomach to think that adults are paying young men to intentionally harm one another. That’s taking things to another level.

Ohio State football coach Jim Tressell talks to reporters Thursday, Aug. 10, 2006, during the media day in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

The debate about paying college athletes has become a popular topic again in light of a few prominent scandals at Ohio State and USC.

Penn State assistant coach Jay Paterno, son of Joe Paterno, weighed in with his thoughts about paying college athletes in a very well written column on statecollege.com, reposted on the NCAA’s website.

An excerpt:

“No one sells the student-athletes on the idea that they are getting paid more than $80 an hour for a part-time job. No one tells the student-athlete to go talk to other students on campus who work 30 or 40 hours some weeks and will still owe tens of thousands of dollars when they graduate.

It is all about perspective. The reality is that a few hundred more dollars or even a few thousand dollars to help cover the cost of attendance isn’t going to erase the cheating that goes on. The cheating that’s going on is for a lot more money than the cost of attendance.”

Paterno actually gives a really strong argument in favor of not paying student athletes, but former USC defensive back Terrell Thomas strongly disagrees with this perspective. When asked about the topic on ESPN’s First Take, Thomas had the following response.

“I didn’t get any type of free education. I earned that education. When I went to hs I worked my butt off in the classroom to become eligible to go to USC and on the football field to get an athletic scholarship. And just like any other student in high school, they can give out free academic scholarships, full rides, but the school’s not making money off those players. In my opinion, nothing was free, I earned it.”